Fishing Party AGM - Townsville Members

[Commodore]

Gents,
This is not the place to ask for or expect any one to commit to a position for the TFPQ exec places. We would love to here from any members here that are interested in supporting the TFPQ HB branch, as we do need some support ASAP. A meeting will be called soon, I know James it’s been said before, but it will happen. So for all those that may be interested and are not already involved with the TFPQ, please pm me your details and you will be informed of the party’s actions.
Regards,
Matt

[Got_the_Fever]

Shane thanks for the response. I will give you a call during the week

Kel

[Big_unit]

Just for the record here is a copy of a post I made in late December last year. Seeing as the link I posted to TFPQ's website has been deleted, you want to play dirty boys.




Quote from dasher on Dec 29th, 2005, 10:07pm:
James I really don’t know what you really expect for $7 pa, from fishermen that have volunteered their time (and money) to try and correct the injustices currently being pushed onto recreational fisherpersons. This is not a football club it is a political party and such there will always be backroom work that will not be made public for various reasons. You want some sort of professional third major party that has only contested one election with zilch funding; I’m thinking you assume the greens were overnight hits??? It took the greens 20 years to get where they are today and with support from recreational fisherpersons I am sure we can make a difference at the next election. Derek Bullock has posted some excellent information recently and I wonder how many emails you sent to TFPQ with your thoughts on these posts and your ideas as to what we should do. Maybe you consider a political party should think for all 800,000 recreational fisherpersons, hmmm 6 – 12 people deciding your fate??? We can have meetings, would you come up with an agenda????? All our current submissions are freely available on the website. Would you like us to print out the submissions (or better still, you could volunteer) and send them out as a newsletter? You ask for meetings, which are going to achieve nothing more than an excuse for husbands to get out for a drink. If you want to become involved read post’s such as Derek is posting, form an opinion and email TFPQ what you want done about it, or at least your thoughts on it.

For those that are not members of TFPQ please be aware you don’t have to be a member to post on the forum or send constructive emails.


I paid the $22, that was the prescribed membership fee. If its not enough then perhaps the executives should raise the fee, dont complain that the fee set by TFPQ is not enough. I have been told that one member kicked in $100000 to the party, Where did that money go ? How many more significant donations have been made ?

Your right its not a football club but it is a registered political party. A political party should be professional and accountable to its members as many football clubs are.

It may have taken the Greens 20 years to be a force, I dont think we have 20 years to be recognised as a force. Time is not on our side. Sitting back and waiting for people to come up with solutions may not be the best way, perhaps encouraging members with thought provoking discussions would be more suitable.

6 - 12 people who are in the loop, 800,000 who are not in my opinion informed on the issues.

I would participate and develop thoughts/issues given the knowledge and networking that a group discussion would offer.

I would gladly volunteer my time provided that TFPQ at an executive level showed some accountabilty & leadership.

I disagree with your opinion that a TFPQ meeting would be an excuse for members to go out drinking together. Your view surely is not accepted widely within the party is it ?

Lastly while ever the executives of TFPQ dont listen and continue to pass the buck, the party may not see the next election.

Do you think you provided a reasonable and practical solution to this issue ?

I feel that to be progressive TFPQ needs to adopt some giudelines for keeping members informed whilst providing direction.

I feel you have gone into a very defensive mode which has not provided any solutions.

You have 2 choices here,

1) Write me off as a whinger, who tried to cause problems.

or

2) Use the issues, ideas & solutions I have bought up and create a progressive & practical set of guidelines for the parties benefit.

I think TFPQ is having some major problems addressing basic issues within the party,

How can they be the voice of recreational fishers when they dont listen ?

I think TFPQ should answer the problems and solve them NOW.

[kc]

Whem!! A fair old spray James and with respect, I believe a bit wide of the mark.

I can understand Dashers original response. Not words I would choose personally..but??

I have been told that one member kicked in $100000 to the party, where did that money go

In a word.....rubbish. All donations, the largest single one being $1000 have been declared to the AEC, as we are required to do by law. We have been audited by the AEC and given a clean bill of financial health. The exception being TFPQ is in debt, by way of a couple of loans,(about $9,000 in total) given by individual members of the executive to make sure we paid our bills. The vast majority of these bills being the $15,000 in direct election expenses. This issue has already been aired and addressed on this forum.

A political party should be professional and accountable to its members as many football clubs are.

Absolutely agree. The new party constitution, adopted at our AGM on 29th July enshrines this.
Copy will be on our web site.

Perhaps encouraging members with thought provoking discussions would be more suitable.

Could not agree more James. Hence the feedback forums both here and on our own site. You will notice on on Ausfish titled "wish list".

6 - 12 people who are in the loop, 800,000 who are not in my opinion informed on the issues.

Absolutely right again James. The issue is how do we "get" to these 800,000 rec fishers without massive amounts of money. To date we produce a monthly, high quality newsletter. Appear in QFM, NQ Fish & Boat, Go Fishing, Go Boating, Boating Business and occasionally in Modern Fishing and Fishing World. We also get major space in AFTA magazine and BIAQ Ship to Shore publication. The executive travel (at their own expense) to Sydney (for meetings with AFTA) and to Brisbane for meetings with BIAQ and to attend industry forums like the "Reef Grief" meeting.
WE have our own web site, use all fishing web site forums (but more particularly this one), we have organised and attended public meetings in Cairns, Weipa, Mossman, Townsville, Hervey Bay, Bribie Island and Brisbane with total attendance at these meetings now topping 3000 people, right up till last nights meeting of some 500. . We have done windscreen drops at boat ramps, talked to almost every tackle shop owner on the coast between Gold Coast and Cairns and appear most weeks on 4BC Talking Fishing and ABC Fish Talk as well as a number of regional news items. We even made the front page of the Melbourne Age. With respect James....if this isn't getting the message out then I don't know what can

I would participate and develop thoughts/issues given the knowledge and networking that a group discussion would offer.

Good. I asked you last week to PM me and I would send you Matt Mercers contact details. Matt has just moved from Brisbane to Hervey Bay and is really keen to give dasher some help and get the Fraser Coast branch up and running. To date you have not responded to the PM, choosing instead to launch into us here.

Lastly while ever the executives of TFPQ don’t listen and continue to pass the buck, the party may not see the next election.

Hmm!

I feel you have gone into a very defensive mode, which has not provided any solutions.
You are right that we get a bit defensive James. Especially against ill-informed attacks.

Generally I am pretty good at copping it on the chin and take positive suggestions, like the newsletter issue in my stride and try to do something about it.

This party is not and has never been about the executive "telling" members what to do but the other way around. Surely our submission documents, all on the web site, prove this. They are all about what the members input was and we have achieved major successes as a result.

Frankly James, you keep saying you want to help, ...well, once again, PM me, I will put you in touch with Matt and lets see if you really are prepared to put some time, effort and occasionally your own hard earned cash into this cause.

I always knew this would be a thankless task. Everyone who has been actively involved should be commended for where we have come to in just 2 short years. The meeting last night in Brisbane is testimony to the fact that recreational fishing is now firmly ON the political radar.

I guess we will keeping copping the occassional brick bat but those who take the time to read, research and follow the progress we have made in the last 2 years know we have not been sitting on our hands.

I think TFPQ is having some major problems addressing basic issues within the party,

How can they be the voice of recreational fishers when they dont listen ?

I think TFPQ should answer the problems and solve them NOW

Well James I really don't know how to answer this. I don't know what "basic issues" you refer to, other than the fact that our Hervey Bay branch does not have any active members.

We have listyened to the 3000 people who have come to meetings and all submissions reflect this. We have taken items listed on our "wish list" post and are using them in policy development. We have even taken some suggestions from you and with a great degree of effort and time now produce a monthly newsletter.

Give us a specific problem or issue mate and we will try our best to deal with it. That's is all we have ever tried to do and so far we have had a lot more successes than failures.

Regards

KC
Chairman
TFPQ

[Big_unit]

KC,
Thank you for your response, Ill be glad to chew some humble pie. Ive just a had a fairly indepth conversation with Chong and am glad to see that we will get some much needed direction and leadership. TFPQ Fraser Coast will be going ahead after a short delay and I am pleased to say that I will be helping to cement its place in our local area making sure that we as recreational fisher people are heard and understood.

Cheers
James

[kc]

Good on you James. Humble Pie always tastes better washed down with a cold 4X. I should know, I have eaten plenty of it over the years.

Always a good idea before you throw a hand grenade to sleep on it overnight. Things said in the heat of battle often get taken the wrong way.

We will always be the targets of critisism, after all, we are a political party....comes with the "job" but better if we deal with these "in house" and fix issues before they become public property.

The environmental lobby would just love to see us fighting amongst ourselves and not focusing on them.

As TFPQ becomes more "newsworthy" everything we have ever said and/or done will be looked at by the media.

Just so you "heard it here first" following is a press release not officially out till tommorrow.


Press Release 4th August 2006

Can electoral lightning strike twice?

When Goss Government environment Minister Molly Robson lost her Springwood seat in the 1995 election it was in no small part due to the recreational fishing vote and her public stance to ban fishing in all National Parks.
Current Environment Minister Desley Boyle now faces a real challenge for her seat in Cairns with Fishing Party candidate, Dr Mike Mansfield announcing his candidacy.

Dr Mansfield, an Orthopaedic Surgeon, is highly regarded in the Cairns community, both for his professional standing as well as his high profile environmental work in forming the Trinity Inlet preservation Society

The Fishing Party (Qld) was one of the surprise packets of the last Federal Senate election outpolling both the greens and democrats North of Mackay and achieving primary senate votes as high as 20.6% in some regional booths.

Party Chairman Kevin Collins said the organization was extremely serious about its attempt to influence a number of coastal seats affected by ultra green driven Labor policy.
“This party is about returning some common sense to the environmental debate”’ he said.
“This is about everyone from fishers to horse riders, beekeepers to 4WD enthusiasts and ordinary Australians who are made to feel guilty because we choose to enjoy our natural resources”.

“We are tired of constant messages which make us feel we are no longer welcome in our own national parks. Dr Mansfield’s candidacy is our first shot at tearing down the environmental bureaucracy which dominates the lives of ordinary Australians”.

This minister has overseen the complimentary zoning legislation in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which has closed off many of the beaches in the North to family fishing and destroyed many fishing related businesses. Ms Robson tried without success to ban interaction with Dolphins at Tin Can Bay and now has her sights set on the 2007 rezoning of Moreton Bay. “Enough is enough and the first real shot over the bow of the Beattie Government could be the loss of his Environment Minister”.

It is the stated intention of The Fishing Party (Qld) to make Governments, at all levels, come to fear the “fishing vote” more than they do the “green vote” and no longer will green preferences determine Government policy.

Ends

Media Contacts Kevin Collins 0414 785 462

I guess this means I am officially off Ms Boyles Christmas Card list.

Regards

KC

[Commodore]

Big U, KC, and all members of the TFPQ and Ausfish,
We now know that we are no longer an itch on the bum of the current Polly in power, we are here and a committed voice that represents the 20 %(+-) OF VOTERS currently in the re shuffled off preferences votes for the major political parties. We can now take our own stand, and BU, it's you, the member, who have the passion that make this party, together, even the smallest contribution, will make our stand stronger. We are here for the every day angler, the dads, the mums and most of all the kids, and we will defend what is our right to fish and enjoy what we have already protected for many years….. We do not need some green movement representative from overseas to dictate the conservation of our own back yard!!!!
Now we need the current government to justify, what is already turning out to be a red faced situation, more closures, more restrictions, more impact on local communities, completely based on one opinion that we, the rec fisher, affect the annual dugong, turtle, fish, crab, plankton, jellyfish, single cell organisms deaths to a point that is un sustainable!!!!!! It’s a bucket of burley….
Fellow fishers, as one that has done just a bit, all I ask that if we let the current political environment dictate our future to us, and we do nothing, we should say nothing!!!Because once again it will be the many voices that spoke, yet moved not from there seats!!!!
Cheers,
Chong